Mawufemor slept for most of the three-hour journey to Ho, something he deserved. He had been working and studying for most parts of the day and night, and rarely managed to get 3 hours of sleep in the whole 24 hours. It was affecting his frame and health in certain ways. The eyes had receded into the hollows of their sockets, giving him the appearance of an Alien. He'd developed a strange sneeze accompanied by catarrh in the early hours of the morning, a discomfort he'd learned to understand and live with. But with the hardships came the rewards.
Mawufemor had been able to save a little more than GHS 22,000.00 through his many jobs at the market and its environs, as well as his strong sense of frugality—making sure that he didn't spend foolishly as other young men would.
He planned to stay in a guest house in Ho for a few days while he scouted the town for suitable lodging, and then go job searching as a mason, carpenter, painter, or construction hand, utilizing all of his skill set.
The late Mr Mensah's fatherly advice and guidance were still fresh in his thoughts. Mr Mensah's words were echoing in his ears:
"Do not purchase anything until you can purchase two of them at the same time. If you can't afford to buy two phones at once, then one is too expensive!"
This piece of advice had prevented him from squandering his money on expensive clothing and jewellery. Instead, he wisely used his money after heeding another advice:
“Any investment into education and books is never a waste!”
He had adhered to these principles, promising to make Mr Mensah proud wherever he went. He had intended to attend university or the Teacher Training College because of Mr Mensah's support. As a result, he has decided to settle swiftly and seek to increase his earnings to supplement his savings.
He was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't notice the young lovely lady sitting by his side, on whose shoulder he had inadvertently leaned to sleep for the first half of their journey.
“Hi, I am Vivian,” the young fair-complexioned lady introduced herself.
“Oh, I am Mawufemor!”
“Beautiful name. My Ewe name is Kafui, though. Nice to meet you!”
“Pleasure is mine, my dear,” Mawufemor stammered.
Vivian broke the ice after a few minutes of silence.
“I can see you are the shy type. Is it because of your stammer?”
Mawufemor felt uncomfortable. He was indeed shy and scared. He remembered things he had heard the market women say at the market:
“Oh, Mawufemor is a good chap but he wouldn’t get a woman to marry him!”
“Any woman that would marry Mawufemor would do that out of pity!”
“I won’t allow my daughter to bring a stammering man to my house. What for?”
Mawufemor was trapped in a prison of self-pity and inferiority complex because of these unpleasant discriminatory words from the market women.
“Won’t you mind me?” Vivian’s words jolted Mawufemor from his daydream.
“Ermm...not that,” he started, “just that I am not used to talking to strangers!”
“Oh, c’mon! I am not a stranger!” she snapped.
“In fact, I like you!” she spilt the beans. “I hope you like me too?”
Mawufemor became stiff. The last time a woman had expressed interest in him was when little Betty used to visit him at the market almost a decade ago. And he was aware of the conclusion. He was thinking about a lot of things at the same time. Is this lady really real? What had she noticed about him? Is he really so attractive?
“Mawufemor, I love you!” Vivian stoked the fire.
Mawufemor was speechless, near to being paralyzed.
“Just say yes,” she requested, “I know you like me too!”
Mawufemor nodded, and she wrapped her arms around him tightly. Mawufemor felt active electrons running down his entire body, a sensation he had never experienced before.
The two new lovebirds chatted for the rest of the ride to get to know each other. Vivian happened to be a native of Ho, hailing from Dome. She was a final-year Accountancy student at the Ho Polytechnic. She had rented a house in Bankoe, a suburb of Ho, not far from her family's home. She offered to host Mawufemor till he found his own apartment after learning of his plight and plans.
Vivian was later discovered by Mawufemor to be a spendthrift—someone who spends freely and lives lavishly. Within a month, Mawufemor had spent more than half of his savings on her extravagant lifestyle. He renewed her rent, paid her fees, purchased clothing and jewellery, and spent a lot of money on food orders from a restaurant called KCS. He started to feel a pinch.
“I think we should be careful how we spend,” Mawufemor said one day.
"How are you supposed to be my boyfriend if you can't afford me?" Vivian shot back.
"It's not like that, my love," Mawufemor explained modestly, "it's only that I haven't got a job yet, and spending all my money isn't a good idea!"
Vivian's face flushed. "So you want us to go starving in here, eh? Only because you want to save your money?"
“I beg you, don’t see it like that,” Mawufemor pleaded.
“Why am I even with you in the first place?” Vivian burst out.
This would be the pattern for the following two months: whenever Mawufemor expressed dissatisfaction with their expenditures, he was threatened with a breakup and finally eviction. Mawufemor had fallen deeply in love with Vivian and couldn't picture his life without her. She had taken him to her sacred cave of Adullam, and fed him her bearded meat while bathing him in the lovely river that flowed beneath. He'd been entranced by the two twin hills just above the cave's valley, a place where he'd discovered enough peace to last a lifetime.
But then two things happened in a row that made him think. A visit from three of Vivian's friends was the first incident. He overheard her friends questioning her about what she was doing with a stammering partner while they were conversing in hushed tones.
“Me? Boyfriend? A stammerer? Hell no!” she had whispered.
"I just noticed he had some money to spend, so he's only here to assist me with a few expenses. You know what Vivian does when your money runs out, don't you?"
The second incident occurred when Vivian's parents paid her a surprise visit to her apartment. She realized that the best lie to tell her parents about a man in her house at 6 a.m. on a Saturday was that Mawufemor was her fiancé and that she planned to bring him to see them at home.
After a few minutes of chatting with Mawufemor, her mother turned to her.
“Kafui, you are not bringing a stammerer to my house, do you understand?”
Her father added, “Don’t you know that stammering is a family sickness? Do you want my grandchildren and great-grandchildren to become stammerers as well?”
These words slashed through Mawufemor's heart like a hot knife through margarine. These were familiar words, as were the associated worries. However, her parents' opinion on the relationship was obvious, and that was the most significant factor. Nevertheless, the two lovers remained together.
Four months into his stay with Vivian, Mawufemor ran out of money and still had no work. This resulted in an abrupt shift in Vivian's attitude.
Early one morning, Vivian summoned Mawufemor to her side.
"Baby, I don't think this relationship is working. I no longer feel us. I believe we should call it quits!"
Mawufemor pleaded and pleaded, but it was futile—Vivian had made up her mind. When Mawufemor returned from another round of job-hunting that evening, his possessions were waiting for him outside—he had been kicked out of the house and the relationship!
TO BE CONTINUED...
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